Regan Smith Adds Another Medal to Her Paris 2024 Collection After Taking Silver in the Women's 200-Meter Backstroke

NANTERRE, France — Regan Smith took silver in the women’s 200-meter backstroke Friday night, racing against another talented field. Similar to previous nights, it was a battle between Smith and Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, the current world record holder, that came down to the final 50 meters. Smith turned slightly ahead of the Aussie at the last wall but was outsplit by roughly seven-tenths of a second in the final stretch to touch in 2:04.26. McKeown took down the Olympic record in 2:03.73 while Canada’s Kylie Masse took bronze with a 2:05.57. Team USA’s Pheobe Bacon, who was the top qualifier heading into the final, finished in fourth in 2:05.61, narrowly missing the podium.

This is Smith’s third silver medal in as many individual events here in Paris, with her other two coming one night earlier in the 200 butterfly and Tuesday in the 100 backstroke. Smith is now the only woman to ever medal in all three of those events in a single Olympics.

“I really enjoy it,” said Smith of racing both butterfly and backstroke at high-level meets. “I like how I go from a long axis stroke to a short axis stroke, and they use different muscle groups. I also enjoy the fact that there's a completely different field of women in both events. It’s fun to compete against a very wide range of of talent.”

Smith has not always raced both events on an international stage; the 2022 World Championships being the first major international event for her in the 200 butterfly. Prior to that summer, the 22-year-old was primarily known as a backstroker, and for good reason. She burst on to the scene as the next rising star when she made the 2017 World Championships in the 200 backstroke at just 15, qualifying for the final. At age 17, she shattered the world record in the event at the 2019 World Championships, shaving almost three seconds off her previous best time to finish in 2:03.35. The previous record of 2:04.06 belonged to American Missy Franklin.

“I had no idea that it was coming and then I had no idea how to deal with it afterwards,” said Smith. “Some of the pressure that followed that was just unbearable for me to deal with at the time. I just couldn't do it. I crumbled every time I tried to get up behind the blocks and do that race.”

Smith’s mental struggles with the race began to show in her performances, swimming times much slower than she ever had in the event. At the 2021 Olympic Team Trials, she swam a 2:07.23, placing third and missing the U.S. Olympic team for the 200 backstroke despite having the world record. She did earn a spot on the team in the 100 backstroke after winning the event at the meet.

“It was incredibly embarrassing,” said Smith of missing the team in the 200 back. “But at the same time, I was so relieved that I didn't have to do it on the international stage, because I hated it.”

Following Tokyo, Smith began to race other strokes, such as butterfly, as she simultaneously worked through her relationship with the 200 backstroke. In June 2023, she broke the American record in the 200 butterfly and become the first American woman to dip under the 2:04 mark. As she began to make a name for herself in events outside of the one she was “known” for, she slowly felt her mindset shift to a more a positive place with the event.

At the 2023 world championships, Smith was back on the podium in the 200 backstroke for the first time since 2019. At the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June, Smith won by over a second to make her first Olympic team in the event, almost five years after she broke the world record.

“I love it a lot more than I used to,” Smith said of her new relationship with the event. “If I could go back three years ago and tell myself anything, I would just say that it gets easier and be damn proud of yourself for not quitting.”

Smith’s fight during the past several years showed in her performance tonight. After a packed schedule already so far in Paris, she concluded her final individual event with a podium finish. From everything she has endured from 2017-21 up to now, she can officially call herself an Olympic medalist in the 200 backstroke.

“I'm just proud of myself that I never quit,” said Smith. “I failed many, many times… but if there's one thing about me, it’s that I’m not going to quit.”

Hanna Barton is writing for Team USA as a graduate student in the Sports Capital Journalism Program at Indiana University Indianapolis.